


Listening To You

by heyheyheywhatcanid0



Category: The Who (Band), Tommy (1975), Tommy - The Who (Album)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24721822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyheyheywhatcanid0/pseuds/heyheyheywhatcanid0
Summary: What happened after Tommy's Holiday Camp burned down? What happened to the hero of the story?
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

It was a cold day.   
Just like yesterday. He basically came back to where everything started, being treated like a freak. Tommy hated the feeling of being treated like that so much, he felt like a disgusting human being everytime they wanted to touch him. They didn't love him. They wanted to go through the same things he went through.   
The holiday camp burned down, and when the press came to investigate everything, there were no signs of the pinball wizard. He wanted to forget it all. The only thing he could do was to hide from the public eye.

He started to lose his voice little by little, as he couldn't feel his choked sobs anymore while he got reminded once again that, he didn't have a home anymore.

He couldn't hear the birds sing anymore, the month after the disaster, and so he only had his vision by his side. 

Until he couldn't see anymore. Inside, he felt heartbroken, he wanted to feel loved, he wanted to be treated like a normal human being, he was cold, he was hiding in a cave for a month already, he couldn't do anything since he lost it all. 

One day, the press and the policemen eventually found him. His body was cold, and he barely had any clothes with the exception of a pair of jeans.   
They called an ambulance, and picked him up. He didn't know what was going on since he couldn't feel anything. 

Then he slowly opened his eyes, only to look at a young girl, that was probably his age, cleaning a wound he had in his cheek. She gasped as she looked at how he opened his eyes.   
He furrowed his eyebrows as he found her reaction to be quite peculiar.  
She ran away, and a couple of minutes later, she came back with s group of doctors, who had syringes in their hands. Tommy tried to escape as he got out of the bed and tried to run, but they grabbed him tightly from his arms, as he tried to kick them, but it didn't work. They put him back in his bed and did tests on him, he was being treated as a freak once more.  
A couple of weeks passed after the hospital incident. He felt numb as he looked at the empty syringes biting his skin with the point of their needles. He took all of them slowly, as he got out of bed, with only a medical robe on, and somehow made his way out of the hospital.   
He cried as he walked down the streets every night, he was homeless, he didn't have a family anymore, and was only treated like a toy. He remembers from the hospital days all the information they had written about him. He was Thomas Walker, and was about twenty four years old. He had long, curly blonde hair and baby blue eyes.  
He was autistic, according to past entries, but it was mild. He still needed treatment to control it.   
One day, he was walking close to a road, again, he couldn't speak or hear anything, but he got his vision back. 

He couldn't believe that after everything, he was still alive. He managed to eat something, still doesn't know how, but it wasn't enough. He started to see a bright, white light aproaching him, when suddenly everything turned black as all of his muscles relaxed. 

A girl was driving her way home, when she stopped, only to check on the boy who fainted in front of her. She got out of her van, as she was nervous, and scared for the state of the boy. "Holy shit." She cursed under her breath.   
She checked his heartbeat. He was cold, but alive. She lifted him up, and put him in the back of her van, covering him with a matress. 

Tommy slowly opened his eyes again, as a pair of auburn eyes scanned him. "Hi." She slowly let out as she brushed his wounded cheek. "I'm Samantha."   
He looked at her and pulled his knees closer to his chest as he hid from her. She cooed him, slowly brushing his curls. "It's okay."   
He looked at her in fear as he gulped and pulled the sheets closer to his body. "What's your name? You fainted on the road so I couldn't ask you." She asked him softly.   
He furrowed his brows. What did she say?   
She gave him a piece of paper and a pen, as she started to understand his situation. He was deaf, he couldn't hear her. "Write it here." She said, moving her lips so that he could read them and understand what she was saying. The boy grabbed the paper and quickly wrote his name down. Tommy gave the paper to her as she started reading it and covered her mouth. "You're Tommy- Oh." She went from being excited to being upset about him. She leaned in and hugged him, as he tried to get her off of him.   
"I'm sorry." She said as she slowly stroked his curls. He started to relax, as he eventually hugged her back and closed his eyes.

A week later, he could hear her speaking and many other things. He thought it was better staying with her than being chased by hungry policemen and paparazzi. Sam brought him an old plush toy he had and sat in front of him. "Do you like it?" She asked softly, as he handed it to him.   
Tommy's eyes popped open, he never saw something like that. He hugged it as she giggled. "You can keep it. It's yours." She said, brushing his curls.   
He smiled at her, as she looked at him, completely awestruck by that smile, it was beautiful.   
"You have a beautiful smile." She complimented him. Tommy furrowed his brows, as he stroked the artificial hairs of the bear.  
She stopped for a second and thought, "Maybe I'm going too fast with him."   
Samantha asked him, "How old are you?"  
Tommy grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote his age. He showed it to her, as she got surprised. "I'm twenty four too!" She said with excitement. Tommy giggled. 

"Can you speak? I just want to help so that we can have a better way to communicate. I know you can hear me though." She explained. He nodded left to right. She nodded in response. "Okay so," she went to her room to find a notebook, until she started to hear crying from the dining room. She rapidly grabbed a pen and a notebook and ran to the other room only to find a crying Tommy. 

"Oh god," she cursed, coming closer to him and hugging him, "I didn't leave you. I was searching something. But it's all over now, don't worry." She wiped off a tear from his cheek and handed in the notebook and a pen.  
"For you." She said. "You can write down what you want to tell me if you can't speak. If you don't feel comfortable with this, please let me know."   
Tommy looked at the notebook and hugged her.

He was going through the best weeks of his life, and he wasn't lying. He was really starting to feel like a normal person, and Samantha make him feel like one. He still couldn't speak.  
He went to her garden in her country house, and played with the flowers, he read books with her, they cooked together and other shinenigans.   
She covered him with a matress as she turned off the television. "You're great Tommy. You really are."

He giggled in response as he layed in the couch. Then suddenly someone started ringing the bell. Samantha got up and went downstairs. "I'll be back." She said, looking at Tommy. He nodded, as he started to drift away slowly.   
She opened the door, only to find a group of policemen. "Have you seen him?" They asked, showing her a picture of Tommy. She immediately recognise the young man of the pic and nodded left to right. "No." She said dryly. They pushed her as they started to go upstairs.   
But Tommy was no idiot, he hid in a hidden place Samantha showed him. They were close of getting him, but it all went smooth and they eventually got out of the house.   
Sam closed the door and searched for Tommy, she found him in the hidden place of the house and helped him get out of it. "You're so smart Tommy." She brushed his cheek, as he slowly leaned in and kissed him. "I love you." She whispered.   
Tommy was still at first, but relaxed, and then he gasped, breaking the kiss as his eyes started to water. "What?" He asked.   
Sam covered her mouth and hugged him. "I love you Thomas Walker." Tommy started crying, as he finally felt loved and respected. "I love you too." He squeaked.   
She broke the hug only to wipe his tears. "Aww don't cry, what's wrong?" 

"I... Always wanted to feel loved. Instead, I got drugged, bullied, abused, raped, idolized, and many more. I closed my eyes to the world when I saw how my mother killed my lost father in front of me. You were the only person who ever told me those three words." He explained to her, as he sniffed.   
She hugged him tightly, as she cooed him. "Poor soul. Don't worry, you'll be safe here, I promise." She guaranteed to him.   
Tommy finally felt loved, he was finally healed. He was so overwhelmed that he would never leave her. Never.


	2. All Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops

The dog licked Tommy's nose as the boy giggled and stroked it's fur. Tommy was left alone the whole day, since Sam went to work. Hopefully they decided to get him a companion dog, so that we wouldn't be alone.  
"Want to play in the garden?" Tommy asked, locking eyes with the dog. The dog barked happily, until someone started to unlock the door. Samantha opened the door as she looked at Tommy and his dog. "I'm back!" She exclaimed. "Do you want to visit a friend of mine?"  
Tommy furrowed his brows. "Who?"  
"John!" She told him. Tommy thought until he remembered who he is. "Yes John!"  
"Do you want to go?" She asked with a smile. The blonde boy nodded in response as he got up.

"Wait, do I have to get changed?" He asked as he looked down. Samantha shook her head. "No you're okay like that."

Tommy smiled as she grabbed his hand. "We'll be back later Fred." He said to the dog. The dog barked as he walked to his bed and curled up as he fell asleep. 

During the ride to John's, Tommy kept looking outside, completely ignoring the music that came from the radio, ignoring almost everything but Sam.  
"Okay," she said looking at the house, "We arrived." She got out of the car, and helped Tommy. Then she closed the doors and rang the bell of John's house. A tall, black haired man eventually opened the door, and smiled. "Hi Sam, Tommy, how are you?"  
The girl hugged John, "We're okay, thank you."  
Tommy got into the house as he saw a man playing the piano. 

"That sounds great!" He said happily, his world turned all black when the man turned around to face Tommy and stopped playing the instrument.  
"Thank you." He said with a creepy grin. It was none other than Tommy's cousin, Kevin. Tommy took a couple of steps back shakingly as his back faced the wall of the room. "It can't be." He stammered.  
"Oh yes, it can." Kevin pulled Tommy's curls harshly and threw him to the floor violently.  
Sam and John looked at the floor in fear, as they stared at the unconscious boy.  
"What did you do with him?!" Samantha screamed.  
"Do you mean her?" Tommy's cousin asked, as he pointed at the boy, who slowly turned into his own mother and kissed Kevin, who eventually turned into his stepfather.  
Sam tried to run, and John already disappeared at this point. The girl fell on the floor and looked at a mirror, she was Tommy.  
He screamed, as everything started to disappear, as well as his voice, and eventually, his sight.

Tommy woke up breathing heavily as he started to cry, he wanted to forget about everything so much, but he couldn't.

He could still feel the drugs of the acid queen running through his veins, he still felt wet from that time Kevin drowned him, the fingers of uncle Ernie tracing his skin, the waves of the machine the doctor owned. Everything.  
"Tommy are you okay?" Sam said, turning on the lights of her nightstand. 

The boy gulped as he grabbed a handful of the sheets. "I had a nightmare." He squeaked, as he hugged her tightly. 

"Oh baby," she kissed his forehead, "It's okay, it's not real, what-"  
"I dreamt that I got killed by my cousin!" He let out, his eyes red from crying. "And then I turned into my mom!" He weeped as he looked down.  
"Aww no," she pulled Tommy closer. "Anything else?" The blonde shook his head. "Really?" He nodded in response.  
"I have a friend that can help-"

"NO!" Tommy yelled.  
"No." He shook his head.  
She breathed, and then exhaled. "You can- Well, I'm sorry, you have trust issues because of what happened in the past." She added.  
Tommy nodded. "I should get to know him, or her better first, but I'm not sure." He said.  
"Hey it's okay," she cooed him. "Don't worry. Do you want me to lull you to sleep?"  
He nodded, as he layed down, his head laying in his pillow, as the girl tried her best to sing.  
Tommy giggled. "What?" She asked. "You're cute." He chuckled.  
She blushed in response. "I'm trying my best."  
"I know you are." He sat in the bed. "What's what makes it better."  
She lightly hit him with her pillow. He giggled in response as he hugged his pillow, and closed his eyes. "Thank you Sam, goodnight." He squeaked. The girl turned off the lights and layed next to him.  
"Goodnight Tommy."


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set in the late sixties, around late 1968 for your information (I used the movie timeline, not the album timeline :) ).

Tommy was sleeping in the spare bed Samantha gave him, he never felt this safe and comfortable in his life.

However, Samantha was up to no good.

"Yeah," she said as she spoke to someone on the phone. "Poor little boy thought I really loved him." She spat. "But don't worry, I'll hand it to you tomorrow morning. Uh-huh, he gained my trust after we met, that was...five months ago. Yeah, I'll see you later." She placed the phone in it's case as she checked on the younger boy. 

Why didn't she hand him to the police in England? Because she worked with a detective that since the camp broke down in pieces, wanted to find Tommy. 

Sam went to the bathroom, and opened the upper cupboard, and grabbed sedatives so that he wouldn't feel anything. 

She also grabbed cotton and alcohol, to clean his skin before sedating him. 

It was around six am in the morning, as she got into the room of the ex pinball wizard. 

She slowly pushed the mattress away from him, and pulled his arm slowly.

Tommy groaned in his sleep, and showed an annoyed expression, but then he relaxed again. 

She started to fold his sleeve from his long sleeved shirt and rubbed his skin with alcohol dabbed in the cotton ball. 

Samantha heard how the younger boy sniffed, like if he smelled something. 

She grabbed a clean tissue and wiped it against his skin and grabbed the syringe, as she sedated him. 

Tommy woke up yelping. As he opened his eyes, everything went much slower to him, as he looked at Samantha.

"What happened?" He said groggily. 

The girl shrugged. "You're going with the detective. I'm so sorry." 

Tommy popped his eyes open as he tried to remove the object that bit his skin.  
No, not this way.   
She loved him, and protected him.  
But Tommy realized once more, that nobody would truly treat him nicely, he was a freak.

The blonde girl walked away from the room slowly, because time was on her side. 

Tommy followed her from behind lazily, as his vision turned back and fell on the floor. 

Hours later, he woke up in a dark room, with the only source of light coming from a room to his right, that was nicely illuminated. He was tied to a chair, unable to move.

He grunted, as he tried to escape from the oddly textured ropes that irritated his skin.

A girl, with black hair that reached her jaw, entered the bright room placed in his right.   
She sat down in a chair, as she looked at the dark room in front of her. 

"Bea," the detective said as he entered the room.  
"Beatrice." The girl corrected him.   
"Whatever woman," he spat, "Turn on the lights, I'll check on the freak."   
She slid her hands on the controller, and when she looked at who the freak was, she knew he had to save him. 

She always found Tommy interesting, and she knew from the start that he was a victim of abuse, drugs, rape and many more.   
She was a psychologist, and wanted to help the poor fallen rockstar with his past problems that originated all his fears.

"Colin don't. He's not well, less a freak." She told him.   
The detective rolled his eyes. "Why not?"  
"Colin you never treated someone like that. Why is Tommy the exception?"   
The detective stormed out of the room and locked the door, keeping the assistant inside. "Colin! This is not fun don't hurt him!"

Colin got into the room, and placed his hand in Tommy's shoulder. "You're finally here runaway." He whispered to the younger boy.   
"LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!" Tommy complained.   
The detective laughed, as he pulled Tommy's golden blond locks.   
"This will be fun." The older man whispered as he started to make the patient feel worse than he already felt.

And when he finished his dull speech, he slapped the younger man in the face, making him cry. 

Colin opened the door, and as he got into the room, he received a slap from his assistant, as Beatrice went to help the boy in pain.   
He pulled her hair. "What do you think you're doing Bea?!" He complained.

"You'll drive him insane! He only wants to restart his life! Think about all the things he went through!" She screamed with rage.

"I GIVE A SHIT!" He spat back.

"YOU TREATED YOUR OTHER PATIENTS WITH KINDNESS AND ACCEPTANCE! WHY IS THIS POOR BOY AN EXCEPTION, HUH?!" She fired back. 

He hit her. The blonde heard the fight, and wanted to run away from here, as he tried to reach the knot of the rope.

"BEATRICE I DON'T WANT TO HELP HIM!" 

"THEN WHY ARE YOU A DETECTIVE FOR FUCKS SAKE?!" She spat.

"AFTER YOUR SHIT ENDS, I'LL SEND HIM TO THE CLOSEST POLICE STATION..." 

"No..." She said under her breath. 

"YES, AND THEY'LL SEND HIM TO A MENTAL HOSPITAL..."

"No! He needs someone-" 

"AND HE'LL GET SO FUCKING DRUGGED HE'S GOING TO-" He stopped his ranting when they heard the sound of a chair falling. 

She ran as fast as she could to the place of the source of the sound came from. 

Tommy was free from the chair, he only needed to get out of here. 

Bea opened the door, closed it behind her back and locked it, as she looked at a crying Tommy.

"Hi Tommy-" she introduced herself to the boy when he pushed her away.   
"You don't want to help me!" He weeped, "You want to hurt me!" 

She cooed him as she got up, "Shh no, no, no, no, not me. Colin showed his true colours, I can help you. Trust me."   
"I can't trust nobody at this point! Everyone took advantage of me!" He told her. 

"I know, that's why I'm here, I'll get you out of here."   
Tommy didn't trust her. "No you won't."   
"Please," she pleaded. Then Colin started to knock on the door violently. 

"Beatrice you're a bitch!" He cursed, as he tried to open the locked door. 

The girl looked at the chair, and stood up, reaching the ceiling.

"What are you doing?!" Tommy asked her. She lifted one of the plates of the ceiling above her, and pushed it, revealing a passage.   
"Come with me, let's get out of here." She stretched out her hand to him. 

Tommy doubted at first, until the detective started to break the door.  
He grabbed her hand as she helped him to get in the corridor. Now that the boy was above her, he grabbed her hands as he lifted her.

She placed the plate in its place, as they started to crawl their way out of the place. 

Colin noticed that they escaped, so he turned on the alarm. 

The loud and alarming sound of the alarm irritated Tommy, as he broke in tears and grabbed his hair. 

"Tommy here." She cooed him as she gave him cotton balls. "Put them in your ears." He obeyed, and the sound softened to him. "Thanks." He squeaked.   
Then, they reached to the entrance of the building, that was under them. 

Beatrice kicked the rack under them. "Want to go first Tommy?" She softly asked him. He shook his head, still crying. "I'm scared." He said in a thin voice.   
"I'll help you. Hopefully it's not that far, just don't look down." She adviced him, as Bea helped the boy go to the last floor.

Tommy was about to reach the floor, but looked down and started to kick and weep.  
"Tommy you're doing great! Don't stop there look at me!" She ordered him. As he looked above him, seeing Beatrice. 

He made it, and was finally in the entrance.  
Beatrice went last and pushed the door of the building, so that they would escape.   
"Let's go!"   
She grabbed his hand, and ran away with him. 

Breathless, Colin reached the entrance, only to find a broken ceiling and an opened door.   
He grabbed his walkie talkie. 

"We have two runaways chief. We'll track them now."


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Beatrice as Tina Aumont but with short hair :)

They were now in a field, far from the detective building. 

The psychologist looked at the young man, who was hyperventilating from before.

"Hey, hey, hey, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy..." She said softly, as she tried to comfort him. "It's all over now sweetheart." She wiped his tears. "This won't happen to you anymore. Just inhale, and exhale."

Tommy followed her advice, as he inhaled, and then exhaled, as warm tears ran through his cheeks.

"You're doing so well, keep doing it." She reassured him. 

Tommy gulped and repeated the process, as he grabbed her hand.

"My house is close from here, you'll be safe I promise you." She told him. 

The boy nodded, but didn't trust her yet.

"Over here!" Officer Colin ordered the policemen as they approached the field, "I saw them running here!" 

"Oh god." Beatrice cursed under her breath, "They found us, run!" She told the boy as they ran across the field. 

"There they are!" Colin pointed to the cops, as they ran towards the young psychologist and the former rockstar.   
A cop eventually trapped the blond boy and pushed him to the floor, as Tommy tried to escape from the policeman's embrace. 

"NO!" Beatrice screamed as they arrested her. "You can't do this! Tommy just wants freedom!"   
"LIES!" The detective screamed. "He doesn't want that, right Thomas?" 

Tommy tried to say something, but realized his voice faded away, as he squeaked. 

"Cat got your tongue?" Colin teased the younger man.

Tommy proceeded to kick the cop over him in the balls and escape, as he got under the police vehicle.  
“You can’t hide forever! He’s under the vehicle!” the hurt policeman shouted, as he spotted a mop of blonde curls under the automobile. 

Another man from the group of vile men got under the vehicle to point at the young man with a gun, close to end his life.

“STOP! DON’T SHOOT HIM! I CAN EXPLAIN!” Beatrice screamed at the top of her lungs. “Okay, elaborate.” Colin ordered her. 

“He’s been through a lot in the last years...He always wanted to feel loved, and wanted people to care about him, but it seems that no one, not even his biological mum would give that to him. Since he got his senses back, he got exploited by his own mum and step father into something that he never asked to be. He got brainwashed Colin.”  
The vile men laughed at her explanation.  
“JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE! Let’s negotiate.” Beatrice offered the man. They stopped laughing as the detective took a step forward and raised an eyebrow. “Continue.”

“He stays with me. End of the story.” She ordered him.

“No.” Colin spat.

“Why not?” she asked with her arms crossed.

“He’s a freak, and needs to be put in an asylum.” The older man elaborated. 

“He does not. He needs support and reassurance.” she fought back. 

“I’m a detective.” he told her.

“And I’m a psychologist and a doctor. I’ve studied for years and not to speak with idiots like you.” she spat at him. “Tommy needs someone that truly cares about him and wants to feel safe. I can help him.”

“Bullshit!” he cried. 

“Your logic is bullshit Colin! I can help him!” she screamed.

“Why you?!” he fired back at her.

“BECAUSE WE CAN’T LEAVE HIM DYING FROM HYPOTERMIA IN THE STREETS! IF THEY TREATED HIM LIKE THAT BEFORE PEOPLE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIM AND HIS ABILITIES! JUST LET ME TAKE CARE OF HIM! LET HIM STAY WITH ME! I DIDN’T RESEARCH ON THIS WHOLE SITUATION FOR MONTHS FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!” She finally snapped back, intimidating Colin for the first time in his life. 

“Fine. You’re fired.” he spat, as he pulled violently the boy from under the car. “I’ll get you soon, Walker.” 

Tommy rubbed his arm as the boy and the psychologist looked at how the authorities left the place. 

Walker looked at her and started crying tears of joy, as he hugged her tightly, and placed his head in the crook between her neck. 

“Aww it’s okay, it’s okay you’ll be safe, I’ll give you shelter.” she cooed him as she hugged him back. 

He swallowed and looked at her. “What about me? And your job?” 

“I work in a hospital and in an association. I’ll have to speak with the idiot of Colin to confirm that you live with me and more, but it’s not that complicated.” she explained to the ex pinball wizard. “Now let’s go home.”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff

She was washing the dishes when she heard someone coming downstairs. 

She peeked over the hall, only to see a Tommy who still looked affected by sleeping coming downstairs.   
"Good morning." She beamed as he groaned in response. "You slept eleven hours." 

"Eleven?!" Tommy asked her. She nodded. "It's fine, yesterday was a long day. Are you hungry? Want something for breakfast?" She asked him. 

"No, thanks." He answered to her as he layed on the sofa, covering himself with a wool blanket. 

"Are you going to sleep again?" She asked him.

"Maybe." He answered to her, as he pulled the blanket closer to him and drifted away. 

She returned to the dishes, as she started drying the plates, "So what do you want to eat?" 

Beatrice turned her head to find him sleeping peacefully, as he gripped the blanket closer to him. 

"Nevermind, I'll make some curry." She spoke to herself.  
After she dried everything, she grabbed paper and a pen, and wrote a note, then left it on the coffee table in front of Tommy, in case he woke up. She grabbed her bag, her purse and her keys, and left her house. 

When she returned Tommy was still sleeping, so she started to prepare the food. After she had set up the table and cooked, she walked over to the sofa, and softly shook his shoulder.

"Tommy wake up," she whispered, "It's time for lunch." She received a groan in response as the boy hid himself in the blanket in his sleep. 

"I'll save some for you if you don't wake up." He didn't wake up, so she saved some food for him. 

After lunch, she sat on the sofa and read a book, with the sound of birds chirping coming from outside.  
Then, the young man groaned and sat on the couch. 

"Good evening." She told him.

"Sorry if I didn't wake up," he apologized to her, "I had a hard time trying to, y'know, fall asleep yesterday... Samantha's betrayal affected me..."   
Bea hummed, "I understand, you're affected by what happened yesterday." He nodded in response. 

"Did you sleep nicely?" She asked him, he smiled in response as he looked down. "Yes, thank you. Bea- wait can I call you Bea, Beatrice?" 

She chuckled. "Yes, yes you can, don't worry."  
"Alright... Um, can I ask you something?" He asked her as he looked at the photos that hanged on the wall. 

"Yes?" Tommy turned his head to face her. 

"Will you harm me if you had the chance?" He asked in a low voice, then curled up in the sofa.

"Of course not. I wouldn't do that. I want you to feel comfortable and safe. You weren't really safe with them, and I mean your family." She then stroked his hand softly. "I'll help you. Trust me" 

Tommy let out a sigh of relief as he smiled sweetly to her. "Thanks. Sorry for the stupid question."

"It's not stupid." She reassured him. "I want you to understand that I won't harm you. I want to help you."

Tommy looked at the old photos of Beatrice when she was younger that hanged in the wall.   
"You had a dog?" The boy asked her.

She looked down in   
sorrow. "What's wrong Beatrice?" He asked, concerned about the girl.

"He died when I was a teen. It happened all of the sudden. His name was..." 

Tommy raised his eyebrows as he looked at her.

"Boob." 

The ex pinball wizard snorted and started laughing as he pulled the blanket closer. "Boob?" 

She blushed. "I thought it was the funniest thing!" 

"I understand, I understand, it's okay." He told her with a smile.


	6. Chapter Six

Tommy was sitting in the sofa, reading a book about art, while Beatrice was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes.

"Do you like it?" She asked the boy from the other room.

No response. The only sound in the apartment was the scrubbing of the dirty plates and the water that came out of the bobbin.

Then, she closed the bobbin and grabbed the portfolio with Tommy's personal information that she picked from her old job.

She checked the paper, and noticed that Tommy was actually younger than he seemed.

She sat by his side. 

"Tommy?" She asked softly. "Do you want to talk? Yes or no. Only if you-"

He looked up at her and did a dog ear in the book. "Yeah." He replied with a smile.

"Okay, so you're autistic. You know that?" 

"I am, and yes." He replied. "But I'm also dyslexic, I'm sensitive to loud noises, I'm scared of crowds, I have a special interest, constant headaches and when I have a meltdown I like touching voluminous things, it calms me down..." 

"It's nothing to feel bad about nor ashamed. When you need help you can always tell me okay?"

He nodded. "Oh Bea! I also really like drawing and painting even though I just started at it..." He added.

"Oh that's good!" She told him with a smile.

"Yeah." 

She looked at his birthdate once more. 

"Tommy, you're younger than me." She looked at the date again.

"What?!" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "You're joking, right?" 

She shook her head and handed him the page. 

"I'm twenty?!" He asked in shock as he looked at the date. 

"Yeah... But don't worry-"

He sighed in frustration and grabbed his head. She brushed his arm. "Hey, it's alright. You must've read the date wrong, but it's nothing to be ashamed about, it's fine." She reassured him.

"Thanks. So you're twenty five?" He asked her. Beatrice nodded. "Yes sir."

He giggled. Then suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Beatrice stood up and grabbed her keys that she left in the coffee table.

"Who's this?" She asked as the keys rattled.

"It's me, Julie..." A voice weeped.

Beatrice opened the door and pulled the girl closer. "Oh Jules."

Even if Tommy continued with his book, he decided to look at the scene for a bit.

"I came here because you were the only member in the family that would comfort me... Mom couldn't stop blaming me for his death..." Julie broke the hug.

She was smaller than Beatrice, but definitely taller than him. 

She had wavy, short black hair that was curly in the ends and was wearing an orange turtleneck shirt with a patterned yellow skirt, alongside with a thick, dark brown wool coat and mary jane's.

Her makeup looked like Twiggy's, but her makeup on her left eye looked watered down from all the crying. 

She left her coat on a chair and sat alongside Tommy.

"Hello." He squeaked. 

She looked at him, and gasped. 

"You're Tommy?" She asked. 

He looked down. No response. 

She realized what was going on and looked away in guilt.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable." She apologized to him. 

He looked at her again. "It's okay..." He muttered. 

«Mom was right Jules you are a fucking idiot! Look you scared him!» a voice echoed in her head. 

Beatrice looked at the younger couple. «Oh god.» she thought.

"Jules right? I'm sorry if I reacted like that- I- it's was never ny intention and- oh god..." Tommy stammered, being ashamed of himself.

"Oh no, don't be, I should apologize to you for approaching you like that." She reflected. 

He blushed at her.   
"Uh... Yeah... I'm Tommy." He told her in a low voice.

"I know..." She looked away. "So... What do you like? I like art." 

"What?!" He almost screamed. "Me too!" He replied to her in amazement. "Do you like art deco?" 

"It's my fave!" She replied to him with a smile.

"Mine too! Oh god." A big smile appeared in his face. "I also like artists like William Morris."

"Stop it! Me too!" She told him with a sniff.

"No way! We're the same!" He realized as he looked in her eyes. 

A couple of hours passed, and they kept talking about art, even after dinner. 

Tommy realized that, he had a tiny crush on her. 

Yes, they just met, but she liked the same things as him, and she also had trouble in her family, her mother being the one to blame.

She was getting closer to him when he grabbed her hands. 

"No. Sorry I... Don't want you to touch me..." He explained to her as he looked away.

"Oh sorry... I wanted to hug you, but I understand, it's alright." She apologized to him.

"Bea? It's okay if I call my mom to stay in for the night? It started to rain." Jules explained to the doctor.

"Yes, of course. The phone is in the hall." She answered her.

Julie stood up and went to the phone, while Beatrice sat by Tommy's side.

"She's so pretty..." He breathed out.

Beatrice smirked. "You like her?"

Tommy's face turned red. "...Yeah... She's so cool." He mumbled.

"You're in love?"

"Am I?" He asked in confusion. 

The psychologist nodded. "I think so. But don't worry, it's okay don't rush it. It takes time." 

He nodded in response. Jules came back with a sad sigh. "I have to go, my mom screamed at me." 

"Jules it's soaking wet outside! How come she lets you go alone?" Beatrice complained.

"That's what I told her! She won't listen." She muttered.

Tommy stood up and pulled her in a hug. "I think you need it."

She hugged him back. "Thanks Tommy, you're sweet." She placed her chin over the top of his head. 

Then the phone rang. "I'll get it." Beatrice said. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Oh hello Beatrice," an old woman said on the other side of the line. "Tell Juliet she can stay. She will have to be back home tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning." 

"Okay, goodbye Theresa." She hung up. 

"Juliet, huh?" Tommy asked to the girl as she looked up at her.

"Yeah... But call me Julie." 

"I will, but you have a pretty name." He complimented her.

"Thanks."


End file.
